InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fallen Part One: Downfall ❯ Running Blind ( Chapter 10 )

To all of my confused readers… I meant for it to be that way. Trust me, everything will clear up in due time. I find that it adds a lil suspense to everything. Hopefully by chapter 15 everything will be cleared… well not EVERYTHING because then I would have nothing to surprise you guys with. Maybe it's just because I have everything planned out in my head that I don't see where there would be cause for too much confusion, BUT trust me when I say things will clear up. It will all go one thing at a time though. I find a lil suspense thickens the plot. Sorry if it's too confusing, but it's the best I can do really. I know I'm not much of a writer, but I am trying and to tell ya the truth, plots are not my forte. So please be patient and I promise you won't be disappointed… or at least I hope you won't be. Oh on an after thought, with all this planning I've decided to cut this story into two, maybe three parts, just so you're forewarned. ^_^ enjoy the next chapter guys. And thank you for your reviews, I really appreciate your opinions.

Chapter 10: Running Blind

She awoke slowly. Swirls of gray and white intruded upon her soothing blanket of black. Slowly the black began to recede and a red light began to take its place. Groaning, she tried to turn onto her side only to yelp in pain as she hit a particularly nasty bruise. Opening her eyes slowly, she hissed at the blindingly bright and cheerful sun. Looking down at herself, she saw that her naked torso was wrapped in some makeshift bandages. Her tattered skirt remained. Groaning once more, she grimaced when she saw that in some spots on the bandages, blood had seeped through. Her arm had been carefully stitched. It was placed in a sling.

Pulling the blanket that had been covering her around her poorly dressed body, she created a makeshift toga that she held together in the front. Carefully she made her way to the shoji screen that separated her from the rest of the world. Before she could open it however, the door was opened. Kagome came face to face with a beautiful young girl that was probably about thirteen years old, if not a little bit younger.

At the sight of their guest out of bed, the young girl's face lighted up into a blinding smile before she turned with out a backward glance and ran. Kagome could faintly hear her calling for someone named Hayashi and her mother. Kagome sighed as she slowly limped her way out of the room, and leaned in the doorway. She didn't wait long before the same girl from before came barreling around the corner and skidded to a stop before her, the same blindingly bright smile in place.

The young girl wore a simple, yet elegant yukata. Her smile was bright, almost reminiscent of Rin, but this child held an air of propriety about her. Royalty in training, but she was a wild, free spirit. She should be more poised and controlled by now. Cute was the only word for her. Two more people rounded the corner to her left at a more sedate pace. The first was a tall, handsome young man of about eighteen. He had boyish features and a shy smile that reminded her painfully of the ever-boring Hojo. The woman walking beside him was dressed in an elaborate kimono that was decorated with an intricate design upon the left breast that one could only guess to be the family crest. Kagome's blurry eyes could not make out many details. That and she was seeing six of everything.

Black spots began to accompany the blurred vision and multiple copies of the people that stood before her. A garbled sentence managed to pass her lips before she felt her world freeze. Then as if in slow motion she felt herself begin to fall. At some point in her descent, the ground graciously decided to meet her midway. She stared blankly at the ceiling of her room for a few seconds, oblivious to the startled cries that surrounded her in favor of her rushing blood, before the black blanketed her vision.

~X~

//Can't find the answers
I've been crawling on my knees//

She didn't really know when she woke up. She'd been aware of her surroundings for what seemed like hours now, but could only have been a few minutes. She had spent most of the day drifting in and out of consciousness. The blow to the head did her absolutely no good at all. She was conscious now, though and that was all she knew. That was all she cared to know. Any type of movement or even rational thought caused a shooting pain to course through the back of her neck and up through her head only to come to rest right behind her eyes. It was painful as hell.

//Looking for anything
To keep me from drowning//

`Life's a bitch,' was the first coherent thought she could form, without having to cringe in pain. It was an easy thought. It didn't take much thinking to come up with that. Thinking was a big no, no, right now. Thinking beyond a simple sentence was excruciating. She was trying so hard not to think, as a matter of fact, she was thinking… quite a bit. It was an amazing feat in itself. `Maybe, it's not the act of thinking, but thinking about thinking is what's causing me so much pain… UGH! This is killing me! STOP THINKING! As a matter of fact don't think about anything!' she resolved, and with that in mind, she shut everything down, squashed any random thoughts and fell back asleep.

~X~

//Promises have been turned to lies
Can't even be honest inside//

`This is a dream. There's no other explanation for it,' she thought as she walked through a very familiar forest. She wasn't alone this time. She was walking with the rest of the shard-hunting group. Actually this looked very familiar. But she couldn't place it; that is until she saw a very distinctive flash of white in the sea of greens. She wasn't talking about Inuyasha's hair either. Then before they could realize it, Mr. Popcicle himself was standing before them, his usual glacial glare in place.

At Sesshoumaru's appearance, everyone tensed, prepared for the inevitable battle. That never came. Before a word could leave anyone's mouth, the taiyoukai turned his head to the south and began to growl rather viciously that some unseen foe. His eyes began to bleed red, and before anyone could react he was gone. Everyone stood there and blinked for a few minutes before they all came to the unanimous decision to follow him. Something wasn't right. Besides they had been getting weird vibes from that particular direction for a while now, so they might as well check it out.

That night was the night when the two brother's finally put their differences aside. They saved each others' lives in more than one way on multiple occasions. The battle had been long and fierce. That was the night Kagome followed Inuyasha into the woods. That was the night she ran away.

Everything began to mesh together and blur in her dreamscape. Soon there was no distinguishable shape from the mass of swirling colors and emotions. Then the color was usurped by something darker, but it wasn't a sinister kind of dark. It was warm and comforting. She fell into a deeper sleep.

~X~

//Now I'm running backward
Watching my life wave me goodbye//

Sometime throughout the course of the night, Kagome found herself in another dream. Rather it wasn't a dream, but all of her pent up memories. Those that she had been keeping carefully locked away for the past week, or two. Images of her family in the future and her lost friends plagued her. She couldn't get them out of her mind.

She found herself thrown into a beautiful cityscape. She was in the middle of Tokyo, standing in the middle of one of the many parks that littered the city. Trees surrounded her in all directions, but the most prominent feature, other than the sky, was the skyscrapers. Looking to her left, she saw Sango stalk out of some bushes in her battle gear. She wore a peeved expression that could only be caused by Miroku, who followed her out of said bushes, a goofy grin and a handprint adorning his face. To her right, Shippou came trotting out from behind some trees on Kirara's back. Before her, her mother, grandfather and brother came from the closest exit to the city, and behind her Inuyasha and two other shadowy figures lingered in the shadows.

As she took notice of the last three figures, everything else began to melt away. Tokyo found its' home once more in the earth from whence it came, and her family and friends took on a more gruesome veneer. Their once happy, smiling faces became grotesque, broken cadavers. Blood seemingly dripped from every pore and the stench of rotting flesh filled the air. Kagome strongly fought the urge to gag as she looked around in a panic stricken gaze. Everyone, except for Inuyasha and company, seemed to melt like plastic in a fire: the gooey remains left to be soaked up by the greedy earth.

//Running blind
I'm running blind
Somebody help me see I'm running blind//

Without a backward glance, she turned and ran. A shadowy blanket swathed the earth in the cover of night. Without a light source to guide her, she ran blindly through the woods and prayed she didn't run into a tree or something. The most she could make out was darker shadows from the already dark shadows. Her breathing became ragged as she continued on, and she began to hear a faint, disjointed sound, almost like a voice, echoing through the woods. Slowly it became louder.

"MISS!" it called, this time accompanying the call with a harsh shake. At such rude promptings, Kagome awoke, her blood-red eyes searching the room around her as she growled loudly, the servant who woke her trembling in the corner. As she calmed, she realized that she had erected a barrier around herself that had thrown the poor girl clear across the room. With a sigh, Kagome delicately massaged the bridge of her nose as she lowered her barrier. The servant stared at her in awe and prostrated herself before Kagome.

//Searching for nothing
Wondering if I'll change//

"W-what are you doing?!" Kagome shrieked, becoming embarrassed and slightly annoyed. "Get up! Don't do that!" Kagome cried out in consternation when the servant hesitated, but finally obeyed.

"Forgive me, milady," she said, quietly as she bowed in apology.

"F-forgiven," Kagome stuttered, utterly and completely confused. Shrugging it off, she decided to find out where she was and how long she had been there. She had the distinct feeling she wouldn't like the answer. "Where am I?" Kagome asked softly, getting a far away look in her eyes.

"You are at Lord Kouen's estate in the Fenikkusu province, milady," she replied.

"How long have I been here?"

"A little over a week, I believe. Forgive my lack of definite information, milady."

"Where exactly is this estate located?"

"It lies on the border of the Western Taiyoukai's territory, milady," she replied.

Kagome froze at that. `Oh shit,' was all she could form. If he found her here, he would kill her, truce or no. Firstly, Inuyasha wasn't there to protect her. She seethed at the thought of the bastard. Second, she had gravely insulted him, somehow or other last time they met.

"Are you alright, milady?" the servant asked at Kagome's pale countenance. She looked like she was about to be desperately ill. Kagome could hear the last words he spoke to her ringing clearly in her ears.

`If you ever set foot on my lands again,' he had said, `and you are not with my brother, I will personally enjoy ripping out your heart and letting you watch its' final beats as you die,' that was the first time she had ever seen him show anything other than his usual poker face. Not even Inuyasha could elicit such a reaction from him, no matter how hard he tried. It was scary as hell.

//I'm trying everything
But everything still stays the same//

Sighing, she desperately, and shakily rose to her feet and began to look around for something to wear. "Where are you going, milady? You are in no condition to be moving about!"

"Nonsense! I'm perfectly fine!" Kagome snapped. "I'm just a little off because I have been on my feet in over a week!"

//I thought if I showed you I could fly
Wouldn't need anyone by my side//

Giving a cry of triumph when she found a yukata, similar to what Sango usually wore, she quickly dressed, tuning out the servant's protests and headed out of the door. This particular yukata really reminded her of Sango. `Don't think about it `Gome. Don't go there!' she chanted. She made it to the corner where she felt her knees begin to shake. Her stomach uttered a rather loud growl at being neglected for so long and her knees gave out. Her vision danced before her eyes, but she managed to remain conscious. Leaning against the wall, she began to cry in frustration.

//Now I'm running backward
With broken wings I know I'll die//

The servant rushed up to Kagome and attempted to comfort her, thoroughly confused as to what exactly could be the problem. Needing and seeking comfort from anybody or anything, Kagome latched herself onto the servant and simply cried. Nervous the poor servant tentatively patted her back and made shushing noises that she usually used on her children.

"I can't let him get me!" Kagome wailed. "I can't let him kill me before I can avenge them!"

"Who, milady?" the poor young woman asked, fearing for Kagome's life. However, no matter how much she tried, the poor servant girl could not get such information out of Kagome, because she herself was too lost in her thoughts and memories to hear.

Running blind
I'm running blind

`He'll kill me, when he finds me. That won't be long now. I'm sure of it. Oh boy, what a pickle this is,' she thought despairingly. Images of that fateful night flashed before her eyes. She was definitely in for it now. She had bitten off more than she could chew a long time ago and now she would choke. She was in no condition to fight him. Closing her eyes, she prayed for some divine intervention.

Somebody help me see I'm running blind
Running blind

Finally she took notice that she was alone, the servant long since vanished. Kagome could only assume she went to get someone to help her. She didn't even remember releasing the poor girl. Attempting to stand, she found that she couldn't go farther than on her knees.

I can't find the answers
I've been crawling on my knees

Sighing in frustration, she shivered slightly when an errant breeze struck her, curling around her poorly dressed form. Gently it nipped at her form, causing goose bumps to form on her arms and her to shiver at the unpleasantly cool breeze against her feverish skin. Seeing there was no other way to get back to her nice warm futon she slowly crawled back to her room.

Looking for anything
To keep me from drowning

`Some divine intervention would be really nice about now!' she thought as her vision started to blur and fade. `So tired, I just want to sleep,' she thought as she gave up on her futon and curled up on the floor. She completely missed the sound of approaching footsteps and the collective gasp as her form glowed with a pure white light.

I'm running blind
Running blind

~X~

It was still dark out. The entire manor would be dead for another two hours, all would be asleep, except for of course the lord. A tall dark figure walked confidently through the halls of the great estate. After several minutes of walking the figure came to a halt before a specific shoji screen. A knock rang clearly throughout the silent manor, as the solider waited patiently for his lord to respond. A soft, cool voice called from behind the screen, permitting entrance. This was the predawn ritual.

~X~

Alright guys, I'm sorry for the lack of sesshy, but we're about to make that up to ya'll. The next chapter will be about nothing but sesshy… albeit it might be a smite short. Kinda like the `fluff' chapter. Depends on my inspiration.